Laugh Lines August/September 2004

A Familiar Face
When I went back to school after getting married, people warned me that my students would be confused about my name change. I was pleasantly surprised when the first student I saw said, "You're not Miss Seidenberg anymore. Now you're Mrs. Fishelis." "That's right," I said. The student then commented, "Mrs. Fishelis, you and Miss Seidenberg have the same eyes."
Feige Fishelis
Brooklyn, NY

I Think They've Got It!
Hallway noise is always an issue in elementary school. We are constantly trying to keep the noise down as we travel from place to place on our campus. I wanted to make that point again one day while our first grade class was returning to the classroom from Music. I said, "Look around, boys and girls. We are the only class in the hallway. How should it sound?" From the middle of our line, a little voice piped up, "Like the silent 'e'!" I guess the phonics lessons were finally sinking in.
Stephanie Noland
Mesquite, TX

One Tired Ham
At the beginning of the year, I was testing my first graders' reading ability in order to set up guided reading groups. One particular child read, "This is a dog. This is a cat, etc." When he reached the page that had a picture of a sleeping pig, he read, "This is a pork… sleeping."
Lauren Shapow
Penfield, NY

Shiver Me Sight Words
While teaching a sight word review lesson to my first grade class, we were discussing the many uses of the word "are." After using several examples of the word in the middle of the sentence – "We are in school" – I asked if anyone remembered how to use "are" to ask a question. Hoping the students would remember to use the "are" first, I was excited to see Paul's hand in the air quickly. "Okay, Paul," I said, "Tell us your sentence." He replied, "'Arrrrrrrre,' says the pirate!" He truly made my day.
Lori Vance
Coraopolis, PA

The Freeing of the Maids
Recently, I was teaching my first graders about Abraham Lincoln. Since they were ready to embark on writing their own stories about him, I felt a review was in order. I asked what they remembered and received the typical answers – "He was the 16th president," :He was shot in a theater," "He was born in a log cabin," etc. One little boy was frantically waving his hand, waiting to be called upon. Finally I got to him and asked what he remembered about this great president. He blurted out, "He freed…the maids!" It was all I could do to contain myself.
Candice Ware
Audubon, NJ